All Forum Posts by: Ashley Wilson

A few general comments/clarifications to everyone who is currently posting.  First, I originally posted this as I randomly stumbled it, and thought it was similar to how people put decorative covers on switches, etc.  I am sorry I didn't specify originally, but OF COURSE we always confirm an outlet is securely installed.  Second, I have appreciated the constructive and educational comments from people like @Jeff B., @David Dachtera, @Scott F., @Ronan M., @Brian Pulaski, @Dale Riola, @John Whittle, and @Vern M.  However, some of the other comments are taking a different tone.  What I appreciate the most about BiggerPockets is that it is a supportive and constructive environment without being combative.  Let us keep it this way!  I think if you are on BP, you are educated enough to express your opinion constructively, without insulting others.  And lastly, while I am still new to flipping, the buyer's agent, inspector AND township permit issuer/approver (for every single house we have sold) have told us that it is the best renovation project they have seen.  I am not saying this to brag, I am saying this to further illustrate my intent is not to do a "half a** job" as several comments are insinuating, but rather find more efficient ways to do business.  As I am sure we can all agree, as the housing market continues to strengthen, the flipping side is going to be impacted (and in my area it already is).  Finding efficiencies allows for us to stay in business, and continue to better homes and our community.      

@Kevin Allen you're welcome

@Gautam Venkatesan- You are right, I wasn't suggesting that, but I do appreciate @Jeff B. guidance :)

@Ryan Murdock that is awesome!!! I will need to order those as well!!! Thank you for sharing with everyone!

@David Dachtera completely agree...even when we don't switch plates, we always check the outlets to make sure there are safe connections.

@Jim Shepard hahahaha! I seriously got nerdy excited about switching outlet plates on our current flip.  I probably should have bought stock in HD before I posted this, eh?!?!

@Jamie Engledow TBH my first thought was now we don't have to pay our electrician a ridiculous (and I mean ridiculous) amount for what was a tedious switchover! I am glad to see we weren't the only ones that will save from this tip!

@Jeff B. thank you for the tip!!!

You're welcome (note autocorrect said "your" in my first post, sorry about that!) @Deanna McCormick, @Tyler Ansell.  

If you have rehabbed a house, you most likely updated the outlets covers to give that fresh clean look.  If you are like me, you replaced the outlet and the cover.  I randomly stumbled upon this article that is a game changer, and wanted to share it with you all.  http://dreamdesigndiy.com/easy-electrical-outlet-c...

If you already knew about this, I am very jealous of you and the time I will never get back in my life.  However, if you did not know about this little tip (and "Hallelujah" is playing in your head while you are reading the article, like it was in mine) then your welcome.  Hope this saves you the same amount of time/money that I know it is going to save me!  Is it weird that I now am excited to update some outlets???

@Matthew Murphy, just wanted to follow-up as I asked my father what he thought was the biggest challenge he faces.  Without hesitation, he said technology.  As much as we use technology to our advantage, it definitely has some disadvantages.  Specifically, cell coverage is an issue.  And, as I try to keep our operating expenses down, I use google hangouts for my calls.  In Europe, I only use it when I am on wifi.  This is an issue, when I am at my husband's job (there is no cell coverage there), when I am in the car, or in transit somewhere.  Thank you again for the question!

@Kai Kopsch thank you for the compliment! Wishing you success in 2017 as well!

Thank you @Matthew Murphy for your comment! I am sure I have a different answer to your question, than my partner would have.  There are a couple of hurdles I find with respect to my responsibilities: 1) I do all of the design.  Sometimes the materials I pick out online, look completely different once they arrive.  So my father (partner) always shows me the materials upon arrival to make sure that is the look I was going for, especially if he does not like it.  If we have to return a certain material, this ends up falling in my dad's responsibilities, which obviously adds more things for him to do! Fortunately, this doesn't happen often, but it still is frustrating when it happens. 2) I am sure if you have walked in a couple of potential flips, you quickly realize the layout can be super funky.  As we do the walkthrough via FaceTime, sometimes it is very confusing for me to follow.  Our solution to this, is my dad will draw a rough sketch of the floor plan after viewing the house, so I can see the configuration.  And, 3) every house has that pitch-in moment.  In other words, as we are always under a time crunch, getting the final touches completed prior to the open house can take a village.  When those days happen while I am abroad, I feel pretty helpless.  So I try to do anything possible to help my Dad out...and I mean anything he asks me to do.  Most of the time, my dad is going on little to no sleep.  He also recruits my mother, brother, sister-in-law, sister-in-law's parents, and anyone else who is able to help!  So if it means, I call and order everyone pizza for delivery, I do it!  I will have to f/u with what my dad thinks are the biggest hurdles.  Great question and best wishes for 2017!

@Gunnar Sevart thank you! Between your comment and @Shawn Devoid, maybe I should take this idea a bit further and write a book on the topic.  Not sure if there would be a lot of interest, however, it might be worth exploring!  Thank you for the words of encouragement.  We are in the process of looking for more integration with technology to streamline our processes, and there are a lot of exciting things out there.  Thank you again for your comments!

@Ritch Bonisa thank you for your comments.  I think we are on the same line of thinking when it comes to integration in our new "flat world".  It is surprisingly a lot easier than one would first think.  I do think it sometimes takes being pushed outside of your comfort zone to identify solutions...along the lines of sink or swim philosophy.  When I was in project management, I worked on global projects.  In fact, all of my projects were outside of the US.  I didn't realize it then, but it really taught me a lot valuable lessons that I apply today.  Thank you again, and best of luck to you as well!

Thank you @Shawn Devoid! I actually just copied and pasted this into our blog as I posted in the beginning of January about goal setting.  This was originally intended to be a follow-up, but morphed into how we do flipping from afar.  Thank you again for your comments!